Mt. Hebron baseball explodes for seven-run third inning in 11-0 win over Hammond

Mt. Hebron broke open a scoreless game with seven runs in the third inning as they beat Hammond and got a step closer to a county title.

Among the many baseball helmets in the Mt. Hebron dugout, one multi-colored helmet with “Spence” written across it stands out above the rest.

The helmet, which was outfielder Spencer Bond’s when he was younger, now belongs to the team.  Anyone who scores a run gets the helmet bestowed on their head with a swarm of Vikings making a line for them and chanting “Hey, Hey, Hey.”

The idea began a few games ago and is emblematic of the chemistry that’s driven the Vikings to new heights. After defeating Hammond, 11-0, on the road Wednesday, Mt. Hebron controls its own destiny and is just two games away from clinching the program’s first Howard County title since 2015.

“It plays into the camaraderie,” senior Mike Brogno said. “We’re so close. We want to celebrate. We want to get everyone energized. We want to get the bench up. We want to get the crowd going. We just want to have fun out there and that’s part of it. Winning is fun and we’re having a great time right now winning, but we’re also having fun together. The helmet was a great addition to the team.”

Scoreless through two innings, Mt. Hebron coach Aaron Wilson pulled his team together before the top of the third. He told them that it was time to get the bats going and the Vikings quickly delivered.

Mt. Hebron (12-2) scored seven runs on six hits, including five straight to break the game open. Colin Friedman and Alex Swan highlighted the inning, each lacing two-run doubles. Luke Evans also doubled, his first of two on the afternoon.

“I was just hunting the fastball, getting my pitch and driving it,” Swan said. “I’m always saying that hitting is contagious, so picking each other up hit after hit, it’s really nice.”

With a large cushion, Vikings starter Austin Kehres continued to silence Hammond’s lineup. He continually got in front of hitters and allowed just two hits on the afternoon. Mt. Hebron added onto its lead with two runs in the fifth and two more in the sixth, closing out the dominant win.

Seven different Vikings finished with a hit in a well-balanced effort. Its lineup depth is a big reason why Mt. Hebron is averaging a county-best 7.7 runs a game.

“I’ve thrown live batting practice against them in practice and everyone in the lineup can make contact with top tier pitching,” Kehres said. “That’s what it comes down to, when you have a whole lineup of guys that can hit against anyone in the league.”

Mt. Hebron’s defense and pitching are just as capable. Defense is an area where the Vikings have made big strides since last season. Wednesday marked Mt. Hebron’s third shutout of the season. The Vikings are also allowing a county-best 2.1 runs a game and have allowed more than five runs just once.

Yet, Mt. Hebron isn’t satisfied and knows it has more work to do. Hosting Hammond on Thursday and Oakland Mills on Friday, the Vikings are employing a game-by-game mindset. However, one thing you can count on is the same energy and excitement that’s helped propel them all season.

“This team is different,” Wilson said. “They really have a lot of love for each other. They get together all the time outside of baseball. That’s really proven in how they pick each other up. We’ve been in situations this year where we’ve been down a run or two runs and they’ve got a lot of fight. The fight just comes through and it’s been something that we’ve been trying to really to push for a while.”

Mt. Hebron — 007 022 — 11 11 0

Hammond — 000 000 — 0 3 1

WP: Austin Kehres; LP: Owen McDonald

2B: MH- Luke Evans (2), Colin Friedman, Alex Swan, Yash Patel.